The version 1.5 of MOF Mobile Reference is available for download as of yesterday. This version includes MOF roles, processes and activities. Now I am working on the next version of CMMI Mobile Reference that will include sub-practices and work products.

While sifting through various Microsoft Operations Framework documents, I came across an interesting definition of process in a document called Using MOF for ISO/IEC 20000: A MOF Companion Guide.

A process is a set of interrelated activities designed to transform inputs into pre-defined acceptable outputs. The benefit of a process-based framework is that you then have a repeatable set of activities in place designed to take the input, modify or change that input, and deliver the desired output. Because the process is documented and repeatable, it is now a tangible item that can be monitored, measured, and improved over time. If you do not like the outcome, you can either change the inputs, change the process activities to improve the output, or change the expectation of what the output is to be. By defining and communicating the expected output, you also control the customer’s expectation (and therefore the customer’s satisfaction).

What I like best about this definition is how it relates the concept of process all the way to the benefits for the end customer. The definition also builds on the tangible nature of defined processes which makes process monitoring, measurement, and improvement possible.

Keep in mind that both MOF and ISO-20000 are process based.

Over the last few days, I have been working on a mobile reference app of the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF), which I submitted to the Apple App Store this morning. I will let you know once it’s approved and ready for download.

I always wanted to dig deeper into MOF, partly because I had noticed many of our larger customers increasingly utilize it in their mission critical operations. Developing this app has provided the opportunity to do so. I find that developing an application forces you to understand the underlying details of subject.

In developing the first version of this app, I gained a thorough understanding of MOF’s meta-model. I am very impressed with MOF’s vast amount of practical content, and am already thinking about designing the next version of the app with much more content.

My overarching goal in developing these mobile references is to represent the already codified body of knowledge in a form more conducive to internalization. My belief is that the Mobile Internet Platform is ideally suited for effective internalization of codified knowledge.

This is a work in progress but I feel it will mature rapidly.